Today on his show Hugh Hewitt went on a tear about the U.S. Supreme Court decision essentially outlawing the execution of minors. Don’t know if he’s blogged about it yet, but that makes no difference in what I’m about to say.
Now, from all I’ve heard on the matter it appears that Hugh is right about the flaw in the Supreme Court’s reasoning. But, his basic stand vis a vis accountablity is wrong.
Find yourself a copy of the March 2005 National Geographic and turn to page 12. At the very bottom of the second column (continued on page 13) you’ll find these words:
“The executive brain doesn’t hit adult levels until the age of 25,” says Jay Giedd of the National Institute of Mental Health, one of the lead scientists on the neuroimaging studies. “At puberty you have adult passions, sex drive, energy, and emotion, but the reining in doesn’t happen until much later.” It is no wonder, perhaps, that teenagers seem to lack good judgement or the ability to restrain impulses. “We can vote at 18,” says Giedd, “And drive a car. But you can’t rent a car until you’re 25. In terms of brain anatomy, the only ones who have it right are the car-rental people.”
The average 15 and 16 year old can understand the difference between right and wrong, but he’s not able to restrain his impulses as a mature adult can. Not without supervision. That’s the trouble, all too many people think we should leave adolescents to their own devices. So teens, with nothing to do and no real self control, find things to do which are all too often the wrong things.
It comes down to this, you can’t leave a teen to his own devices. Teens are not mature enough to handle the responsibility and need to be kept busy. All the time. Busy at what? Depends, but busy at something. They need to be engaged, and engaged in activities that involve them completely. Completely enough to forestall any stray thoughts in a destructive direction.
We need to re-think how we deal with our adolescents. We need to find ways to keep them out of trouble, doing something productive, or at least time consuming. Were it up to me I would raise the voting, drinking, and driving age to 25. And while I would encourage responsible behavior form adolescents I would not expect them to behave as full blown adults at all times. I would, in short, expect them to act as adolescents, not adults.
That is the big problem I have with executing juvenile criminals, regardless of crime. We’re expecting them to act as adults, when they are not capable of such behavior. We set the bar too high. The great majority of our kids manage to get through without doing something major, but it’s a rare child who scrapes through with a clean slate. And when they do behave properly it’s not because they know right from wrong but more because they dread what the adult world would say and do about what they were thinking of doing.
Which last leads us to those juvenile killers. In particular a pair known as Dylan and Klebold. You remember them, the Columbine killers. Committed suicide at the end. Hewitt was of the opinion they were the perfect candidates for the death penalty, because they knew what they were doing is wrong. In that Hugh is right, and it doesn’t make a damn bit of difference. The trouble is, the two were immature and didn’t care. They had given up and were not thinking about what the world thought of their intended actions. When you get right down to it, it is really only what others might think of an adolescent’s actions that keep the twit in line.
The late John W. Campbell once opined in an editorial in the magazine Analog that people can be divided into two groups; those for whom morality comes from without, and those for whom morality comes from within. Adolescents belong to the former group, they are not able to be part of the latter. If we wish to effectively combat juvenile crime we must face up to this fact and act accordingly.
Oh aren’t you special! As I toil away on my 56k pipe trying to post an entry (which BTW ends up one minute behind yours), your washing your Rolls Royce, and posting to the blog.
Well fancy that! And have a nice Sunday, now that the Rolls is “dressed in its finest Sunday best!
Comment by Marc — 13 Mar, 2005 @ 19:59
A Rolls? In my dreams. Instead, I have to make do with a Bentley Turbo R. And it’s several years old.
Comment by Glenn Reynolds — 13 Mar, 2005 @ 20:07
I think I should post a drink warning for the comments here.
I certainly choked on my drink.
Comment by Kathy K — 13 Mar, 2005 @ 20:13
Wanna sell that Bentley cheap?
Comment by Car lover — 13 Mar, 2005 @ 20:17
Its amazing where you get WiFi these days. There is even a McDs in London that has a “cafe” bit that offers wifi.
Comment by Andrew Ian Dodge — 14 Mar, 2005 @ 06:36
And wouldn’t you know it, Glenn tools around in a Bentley. Bet it’s got those gangster spinner wheels on it also!
Meanwhile here in the Philippines, where internet was a dream 10 years after the fact, I make do with the Dinosour Blog as I wash my ‘52 Desoto!
Comment by Marc — 15 Mar, 2005 @ 00:21